Hey everyone,
I'm having three different mental problems:
1. Thinking
I'll be going on just fine, following the music and as soon as I have a specific thought I make a mistake. Particularly after a successful difficult part and I say to myself "that was great!" or "I'm playing well" or "almost finished with this section," then I'll mess up an easy part.
2. Focus lapse
I'm doing some repetitive chop chord sequence and my mind wanders and I mess up something easy. Or I'm playing something I've memorized and played dozens and dozens of times and then I'll forget whether a sequence is 4-5 or 5-4 and it becomes a guess.
3. Duet playing
I can play something by myself. I can play it in a group. But playing with 1-2 other people is difficult, whether it's a friend or an instructor. Sometimes they must wonder if I even practice, the day after I nailed it practicing by myself.
What is your frame of mind while practicing, playing with friends for fun, or performing for an audience?
Being in the zone kind of implies playing at the top of your skill level, but are you aiming for that mindset 100% of the time, even while practicing? Do you have different mindsets for different situations? How do you quiet your mind when you're no longer having to think about physical finger placement as much (they seem to just know where to go)?
Are there mental approaches or resources you use to develop the mental side of playing?
It feels like I'm at a transition point where the mind is limiting the actual skills...I find it amazing that anyone can play hundreds of notes in a row with no mistakes, let alone improvise hundreds of notes in a row with no unintended dissonance.
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